CHAPTER 16: THE WILL OF THE UNIVERSE

Inside the chamber, time had slowed down. What could have been minutes outside felt like years had passed inside. With none of his senses, Hermes could do nothing but sleep in the cold and desolate darkness. It was unknown to him how long he had been in there.

Slowly, his thoughts began to drift as time itself distorted. His memories of a bygone era began to flash by one by one.

Recollections slowly piled up in his mind: The first was a memory of him with his head down as he could feel the scorn of someone berating him at work.

Another one was him staring at his mother trying to placate him with a fake smile as tears betrayed the feelings she wanted to convey.

One more event passed by him, displaying his figure staring at a picture of his father while contemplating their now-broken future.

More and more memories began to flash by him as he slept in the empty space, it was unknown for how long he was stuck in this lucid dark expanse. The memories he saw made him use his inner voice in melancholy.

'No more... I will not allow myself to feel helpless again...'

It was then that he slowly began to feel his senses return to him as a luminescent light rushed toward his vision in waves, blinding him completely.

Opening his eyes, he slowly began to see the room he had been in this entire time as the fluorescent light bulb attached to the ceiling began to reflect in his irises. Shifting his gaze to the left, the figure of a beautiful woman standing in a lab coat while staring at a tablet in her hands was drawn.

Looking back at the young man before her, her brows eased as a smile began to form.

"How are you feeling?"

Slowly, Hermes lifted his body out of the capsule he had been sleeping in as he slowly turned his head towards her and nodded.

"Never been better."

He was not lying. His body which was exhausted from taking the two tests as well as his arm which was mangled had been perfectly repaired. He felt like every ounce of rust that had permeated his body had been removed completely. It was as if he was a newborn child with a completely youthful vigor resonating from his newly built frame.

Never in his life has he felt this energetic before. It was a truly miraculous feeling.

Smiling, Angelica puffed up her chest and said proudly.

"Why of course! Do you know how expensive this machine is to maintain? Just 10 minutes of usage costs us roughly 50,000 Sanctum! I just used it for 4 hours on you!"

"WHAT?!"

An exasperated gasp was heard as Hermes' mouth began to form an 'O' shape. His body which was full of energy deflated like a balloon the moment he heard the number.

In total, Hermes had just burned through roughly 1,200,000 Sanctum. One must know that an average citizen would only be able to make up to 10,000 Sanctum per year. Hermes has now just used the equivalent of 120 citizens' average yearly salaries in 4 hours.

"Heh, what did you expect? This machine can cure even cancer or other genetic diseases. If not for its cost, sickness would no longer be a thing in Sanctuary City."

"Why does it cost so much anyway?"

Angelica sighed at the question as she pointed at the capsule he was now sitting upright in.

"The liquid you were submerged in is the reason. That liquid is filled with tiny nanomachines that are smaller than a human hair. The liquid itself is also beneficial as it houses large concentrations of every amino acid, protein, or other important component that a human needs to survive."

Before letting Hermes ask any questions, she continued.

"Once it enters your body, the nanomachines will get to work by killing off all your cells and replacing them with exact clones that match your genetic makeup. Essentially, by the end of the treatment, your body has been completely reconstructed with a freshly made one as every cell in your body had been reconstructed from the ground up to match their optimal form."

"Not only that, the liquid which seeped into your body essentially works as fuel since this process is very energy consuming. You were provided with Serum A, which is the cheapest of the three available in the market. The other two are way more expensive as they pretty much give you the energy equivalent of a year of food in hours."

"Your body is now not only healthier but also more fit since the nutrients the Serum provided you was about 80% of the most optimal diet you could ever receive. As such, you are much more energetic now than before."

Remembering something, she continued. "Ah! The nanomachines have already seeped out of your body once the treatment was finished. It would be troublesome if we had to continuously replace them since they are very hard to manufacture. You don't need to worry about them living in your body."

Hermes slowly processed the information as he began to analyze his newly formed body. Although he didn't have any new improvements in shape, he could tell that his body which he previously had trouble moving around in due to him being not athletic is now full of vitality.

As he slowly began to get used to this new feeling, he peered back up towards Angelica and said in a worried tone.

"I... Don't have to pay for this treatment right?"

Her rosy lips curled up into a sinister smile.

"Guess."

"..."

Speechless, Hermes decided to put his newly found worries at the back of his mind as he slowly walked out of the chamber he was in previously. Putting his clothes on, he turned to face Angelica who was busy turning the machine off, and asked.

"By the way, am I to head towards Commander Arthur's office now?"

"Yes, I'll lead you there in a minute."

...

In a wooden floored room somewhere in the barracks, a large desk with two monitors could be seen. Stacks of papers, books, and folders can be found scattered on the wooden desk. Sitting behind it was an old man with white hair and a scar over his left eye as he stared at the work presented before him fervently.

To the right edge of the desk, a picture frame stood upright, presenting a photo of the same man holding a little girl in his arms. His hair was completely black and the wrinkles on his face were more receded than before; even his iconic scar was not present. It was clear that the picture was of a younger Arthur.

Arthur's hands tapped on the keyboard as he slowly shifted his gaze between the papers on his desk and the screen monitors.

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Knock, knock!

A loud knock resounded across the room as he slowly shifted his gaze to the door that was across from him. On each side of the room were red leather sofas for guests to sit in as well as a decorated coffee table positioned in between them. Bookshelves were also nailed to the walls above them filled with files and thick-cover books.

"Come in."

His stern voice echoed out of the room and into the ears of the 'guests' as they slowly turned the knob and walked inside the cozy office.

The figure of a young man with jet-black hair and brown eyes hidden behind two lenses that rested on his nose bridge was seen. Next to him was a woman of similar height and beautiful black long hair who was wearing a lab coat.

Hermes and Angelica both bowed their heads toward the respected Commander as they slowly headed for the sofa on the side of the room.

Both of them sat there without saying anything to allow Arthur a peaceful environment to finish his work.

After 30 minutes, the man slowly lifted his head away from the monitor and gazed at the two individuals who were waiting for him.

"How is your arm?"

Hermes nodded in his direction and replied quickly, "All healed. I feel much better than before."

Getting out of his seat, Arthur walked towards the youth sitting on the sofa and stood directly before him, peering into his soul. The awkward silence made Hermes uncomfortable. Surprisingly, Angelica did not break the ice with a witty remark as her blank face showed no signs of emotion.

'I see, so she has no issues messing with me but when it comes to Arthur, it's different... Hmph, she knows when to push and when to pull back...'

Instead of lampooning about Angelica's treatment of him, Hermes continued to stare back into Arthur as their gazes clashed against one another. This lasted for more than a minute before Arthur broke the silence first.

"It seems I have underestimated you. Not only are you a Stage 1 Celestial but also a 1-dimensional being."

Knitting his brows, Hermes asked in confusion with his head slightly tilted.

"Dimensional? I have heard of that before, what does this mean..."

"Before asking that, do you know why people can become Celestials?"

In his confusion, Hermes replied with a question of his own.

"Isn't it because people can complete the Dreamscape challenge when activating an Elysian Monolith?"

Shaking his head, Arthur retorted.

"But why do Elysian Monoliths have the ability to make someone into a Celestial?"

This time, Hermes did not reply, completely illustrating his ignorance on the subject to Arthur.

"The reason why is because Elysian Monoliths themselves are a link to the Will of the Universe."

"Will of the Universe?"

Slowly nodding, Arthur answered stoically.

"Correct, the Universe we live in is an actual existence, a living being with a will of its own."

"..."

Hermes was speechless at the bombshell that was launched at him. 'The Universe is alive?... What does that even mean...'

Without letting Hermes completely digest his thoughts, Arthur continued.

"The Universe's Will holds the authority over Cosmic Force as we know it. To allow for living creatures under it to use Cosmic Force, it will initiate a task or test using Elysian Monoliths as a medium. If you pass the test, the Universe will deem you worthy and allow your body to hold the power it bestows upon you. If you fail, instead of you controlling the Cosmic Force, it will control you instead leading you into mutating into a monster."

"So does this mean that Celestials are essentially borrowing power from this Cosmic Deity?"

Arthur's head nodded in confirmation as he continued to lecture Hermes with a deep voice.

"Correct. This is where Dimensionality comes in. Those with higher Dimensionality will be able to make the Cosmic Force inside them completely under their control; it will no longer be just a borrowed power. Every living being starts as a 0-dimensional being with no control over Cosmic Force. This fact continues even when you pass the Elysian Monolith dreamscape challenge."

"Even if a person becomes a Stage 1 Celestial, if their Dimensionality is 0, then the power they wield is only borrowed and not theirs. In essence, Although being a Celestial has to do with the Will of the Universe, Dimensionality on the other hand has to do with the Authority of the Universe."

"Your Dimensionality is a mark of your natural order in this world. It is a symbol of your status in the domain you practice in as well as the race you belong to."

Hermes stayed silent while listening to the information being presented before him. He knew how important this information would be to his future plans and so he fervently listened without disturbing him.

"Essentially, Those of a lower Dimensionality than you and are a part of the same domain or race as you will not have the ability to fight you; you can completely suppress them. This isn't a matter of strength but of authority."

"It is unknown how many dimensions of authority exist in this world, but every stage or step of strength you take as a Celestial has a corresponding Dimensionality. If you have to fight against a newly awakened human Celestial of Stage 1 for example, you will almost always be the victor since your Dimensionality is 1 compared to his 0. Your authority in the knowledge domain as well as your natural order as a human is higher than his."

'So in essence, If your Dimensionality exceeds that of someone else, you will have the ability to suppress their cosmic force and abilities in the domain you both belong to... Isn't that a little bit scary? You can't even fight back if someone's Dimensionality is higher than yours...'

Not knowing what dark thoughts Hermes was contemplating, Arthur continued the lecture.

"Your Dimensionality is important for three reasons. One, like before, it makes the cosmic force you wield truly belong to you. Second, it increases your authority over the domain you wield and allows you to suppress enemies of the same domain or race as you. And lastly, your Dimensionality is important to your growth as a Celestial."

"Growth?"

Nodding, Arthur continued.

"Correct. Only by reaching the next level of Dimensionality that belongs to your current stage will you be able to have the authority to activate the next Elysian Monolith to become stronger. If you are a Stage 1 Celestial but are still a 0-dimensional being, then you will not have the ability to activate the next Elysian Monolith."

Hermes nodded his head. "I see, so only by making the current powers bestowed upon you as your own, will you have the authority to access the next stage."

"Yes, that is right", Angelica turned her head away from Arthur to face him. She continued to speak in place of Arthur.

"Your Dimensionality is also not exactly counted in whole numbers. Someone can have a Dimensionality of 0.5 for example, and still be able to suppress those who are between 0 to 0.49 Dimensionality. In essence, your Dimensionality is also a percentage of how much of the Cosmic Force in your body has been under your ownership. Those who are at 0.5 Dimensionality means that they control 50% of the Cosmic Force that belongs to them as a Stage 1 Celestial."

"Before one achieves 100% control of their cosmic force, their suppression of those of lower Dimensionality is not complete. In my previous example of a 0.5-dimensional being, such a person would only be able to theoretically suppress someone by about 50%. There are cases where someone's sheer willpower or cosmic force levels overcomes this barrier however making the level of suppression higher."

Hermes nodded his head in understanding. He had finally figured out how both Celestials and Dimensionality operate. But he still had one question that's been plaguing him this entire time.

"Say, how does one increase their Dimensionality anyway?"

Angelica's brows knitted as her beautiful face warped into a frown. Seeing her silence, Arthur decided to answer the question for her.

"It's unknown how it increases. All we know is that by consistently using Cosmic Force, your body will naturally get more and more used to the energy and make it belong to you. This is just a theory, however, since there are people out there that can increase their Dimensionality faster than others."

"The Gifted, those who become Celestials on their own without an Elysian Monolith's guidance and authority can sometimes be naturally born with a higher Dimensionality or it's given to them before they become Celestials. Because of this, their body will naturally absorb Cosmic Force to match their newly found status."

In his confusion, Hermes questioned the logic presented to him.

"Didn't you say that your Dimensionality cannot be higher than your stage as a Celestial? So how can people be born into a higher Dimensionality or granted that authority without being Celestials in the first place?"

Arthur stared at the young man before him and shook his head as he answered in a deep and solemn voice.

"We don't know either..."

END OF CHAPTER